DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 295,967 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,141 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $6,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after acquiring an additional 25,347 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $18,540,000 after acquiring an additional 38,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $48,419,000 after acquiring an additional 531,305 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $23.80 on Tuesday. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.79.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.